OFF-BROADWAY
Find intimate professional productions all over town with cheaper tix and a greater audience age range than Broadway shows.
Also see short-running family shows and kid-friendly concerts (some of them free).
⭐️ Through Nov 12, get $20 tickets on select Off-Broadway shows. Save with our thorough guide to ticket discounts.
OFF BROADWAY
GAZILLION BUBBLE SHOW
340 W 50th St
⏱ 1 hour
🎟 $59-$79, discounts available
* All ages
Bubble lovers can get their fix at this long-running show that combines spectacular light and laser effects with masterful bubble artistry. Great first show for all ages with only 60 minute running time and casual atmosphere.
$20 lap seats for age 2 years & under available at the box office.
Wake Up, Daisy!
Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre
⏱1 hour, Thu-Sun 11 am & 1 pm
🎟 $12, $8/ages 1.5-12 years
* All ages
Marionettes and music tells the story of a lively little girl living in the heart of New York City in an apartment overlooking Central Park in an update on Sleeping Beauty. Intimate seating is on benches in the historic, charming Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre.
The Eric Carle Story Show
555 W 42nd St
⏱1 hour
🎟 $25, $5/babies under 1
* All ages
Experience the spellbinding stories and colorful characters of author Eric Carle with three new stories on stage for the first time. All ages are welcome in an intimate storytelling setting with world-class puppeteers and 45 handcrafted, magical puppets.
Sesame Street: The Musical
555 W 42nd Street
⏱ 1 hour
🎟 $49+
🎟 Through Nov 12, save $22 per ticket with code PINBALL20.
* All ages
See Elmo, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, Grover, Rosita, Bert, Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, The Count, and more Sesame Street favorites in a charming Off-Broadway musical with live puppetry and classic Sesame Street songs, plus new numbers by Broadway songwriters.
Not the same thing as Sesame Street Live, but a more intimate, NYC-style experience with smaller puppets like the TV show, not full-body costumed characters.
PINKALICIOUS THE MUSICAL
339 W 47th Street
⏱1 hour
🎟 $49.50-$59.40, discounts available
* Ages 2-10
Vital Theatre Company’s cheery musical based on popular children’s book Pinkalicious features a spunky pink-lover who eats so many pink cupcakes she changes colors.
THE NEW VICTORY THEATER
209 W 42nd Street
🎟 $23-$49
* Ages 2+
See excellent local and international productions in a historic Times Square theater. This season includes intimate musicals for pre-schoolers, a comedic Card Ninja and an athletic circus.
Come early and stay late for free lobby activities and kid-friendly amenities including free lockers, booster seats, stroller parking and a kid-friendly cafe.
🎟 Buy tickets to three or more New Victory productions over the season and save 40% plus get free, unlimited ticket exchanges.
Mario the Maker Magician
15 Vandam St
⏱ 1 hour
🎟 $36-$46
* All ages
BLUE MAN GROUP
434 Lafayette Street
⏱ 1 hour 40 minutes with no intermission
🎟 $54.50-$102, see current discounts
* Ages 3+, strange & safe for all able to sit still
Three bizarre bald blue men make music with innovative instruments and interact with each other and the audience without words in a fusion of comedy, theater, rock concert and dance party. Hard to explain and thoroughly entertaining for all ages.
Little Shop of Horrors
407 West 43rd Street
⏱ 2 hours
🎟 $69-$139, lottery available
* Ages 6+, violence is campy & comic
The world's most ravenous plant sings retro rock in an award-winning Off-Broadway revival of the 1982 horror-sci-fi-musical comedy by Disney legends Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. A hapless resident of 1950s Skid Row discovers a fascinating, blood-thirty plant and figures out how to feed him. Featuring an all star cast of Broadway faves.
THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG
340 W 50th St
⏱ 2 hours
🎟 $79-99, lottery available
* Ages 7+, rambunctious slapstick comedy
In this hilarious hybrid of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes, the opening night of a murder mystery play-within-a-play quickly goes from bad to utterly disastrous. A silly play (not a musical) with slapstick, physical comedy.
TIPS
⭐️ Make sure kids of any age are ready to sit quietly through the entire running time; let them know they can only ask questions/make comments quickly during applause. Be ready to leave if your kid is being disruptive. Perhaps bring a quiet snack to see them through (fruit snacks work well).
⭐️ Aisle seats on the side orchestra are great for quick escapes, cheaper then center orchestras and provide a clear view to the stage for shorties.
⭐️ Booster seats usually available first come-first served; ask an usher when you arrive.
💰 Save with our thorough guide to ticket discounts. Buy at the box office if you can to save on hefty online service fees (plus get personal advice on seats). Prices vary by date & time - weeknight tickets are usually cheapest.
⭐️ Subscribe to our email list and/or follow us on Instagram to be notified of promotions including the bi-annual 2-for-1 Broadway Weeks (February & September), Kids Night on Broadway (February & September & August and $20 Off-Broadway tickets (October & March).
PRESHOW READING
B Is for Broadway: Onstage and Backstage from A to Z
From AUDITIONS to ZIEGFELD, grab a ticket to this smash-hit, rhythmic alphabet book featuring favorite Broadway performers, creators, songs, and shows. Spot beloved stars and creators from today and yesterday, such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patti LuPone, Ethel Merman, and Billy Porter, depicted in snappy text and vibrant illustration.
A portion of sale proceeds is donated to The Actors Fund.
Lulu the Broadway Mouse
Ratatouille meets Broadway in a charming middle grade novel about a little mouse with big dreams of starring on the Broadway stage (where she lives). A human girl in the cast of a show becomes Jayne's guide through the world of her theatre and its wonderfully kooky cast and crew as they try to make their starstruck dreams come true.
Better Nate Than Ever
In this hilarious and heartwarming behind-the-scenes chapter book for older kids (now a film on Disney+), a small-town boy hops a bus to New York City to crash an audition for E.T.: The Musical.
WHERE IS BROADWAY?
Learn about the development of the first New York theaters and the birth and evolution of the American musical in a lively and engaging chapter book (part of the popular Who is/Where is series). Get the inside story on favorite stars and shows (including Hamilton) and discover new favorites.